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ProblemBy CIOinsight
Global Supply-Chain Management
Supply chains are going global, yet most firms' systems are designed solely for domestic orders.
It's been a difficult time for Larry Merritt, director of global logistics at Lexington Home Brands, in Lexington, N.C. In less than three years, the $167 million home furnishings company has completely changed its business model. "We've gone from being a manufacturer to being an importer," Merritt says. The reason? Globalization. "A lot of new companies have entered the furniture industry, and they source overseas." To keep up, the company shuttered 14 manufacturing plants and support operations in North Carolinathe last cased-goods plant closed in December shaving nearly 4,000 people from its workforce of 5,000. Profits have increased, but "it's been tough," Merritt says. "It's not what we wanted to do. But at the end of the day, it's a matter of survival."
International trade has always been big business for big companies. But in the age of globalization, it's become a must for midsize and smaller firms, too. (See "Think Big," page 52.) Part of the blame rests on the "Wal-Mart effect," which has trained consumers to be more concerned about price than brandand forced many companies to follow suit. But there are plenty of other factors, including the growth of outsourcing, expansion of membership in the World Trade Organization, and the spread of regional trade treaties such as the North American Free Trade Agreement. According to Hau Lee, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and codirector of its global supply-chain-management forum, these factors have led U.S. companies to realize that "the world is their factory." And they have taken action: Roughly 55 percent of all raw materials for U.S. manufacturing is now imported. In fact, while U.S. exports increased by a mere 4 percent between 1999 and 2003, imports shot up 23 percent.
Yet most companies' current supply-chain management systems aren't properly equipped to deal with global anythinga fact that's costing midsize firms as much as $134 billion each year in missed savings, according to the Aberdeen Group. Sure, international orders can be logged and tracked the old-fashioned waywith spreadsheetsbut the manual process of entering data and figuring tariffs, exchange rates, delivery times, profit margins and logistics is a daunting task, especially when evaluating multiple bids from suppliers in multiple countries. And having a separate system for international orders doesn't provide the systemwide visibility that's critical in creating a more flexible, leaner supply networkthe key to survival in a global marketplace.
New software products that help companies manage global logistics, evaluate sourcing options, and share data between trading partners are a step in the right direction, but as usual they aren't a panacea. To compete in a global marketplace, CIOs need to rethink the entire supply chain, reevaluating policies, processes and even the architecture of the supply chain itself. The first step is to gain greater visibility into supply chains from end to end, and then to share that insight with all the stakeholders along the value chain.
Turn your internally designed supply chain into an outwardly focused global network.
Traditional supply chains rely on a company's own historical data to do demand forecasting and inventory planningand they often miss the mark. To create an effective global supply chain, companies must be willing to share sometimes sensitive business data that will lead to smarter, more realistic decision-making. That's easier said than done. "Companies don't want to share critical, internal business data," says Chuck Poirier, a partner at CSC Consulting, an El Segundo, Calif.-based firm that helps companies plan global systems. But it's critical, Poirier says, to making global supply chains work. "Look at Wal-Mart," he says. "It sends cash register receipts directly to its top suppliers so they know exactly what's being consumed and what needs to be replenished." Stanford's Lee agrees that supply chains cannot operate in a vacuum. "You have to set up information systems that are outward looking," he says. "It's not your company's supply chain. It's your company's supply-chain network."
Few companies understand this principle better than Procter & Gamble Co., the $57 billion consumer-goods manufacturer and operator of one of the world's largest supply-chain networks, with operations in 86 countries. To better connect with global suppliers, P&G created a Web portal that lets suppliers collaborate with P&G through every step of the procurement process. "We can review materials specifications, and suppliers see our production schedules so they can plan logistics in advance," says Alfonso Cos, vice president in charge of P&G's supply network.
Because P&G operates worldwide on a single ERP platform from SAP, supply-chain executives can easily aggregate data across divisions and "make it visible in ways that are more helpful for us," Cos says. For example, P&G creates digital dashboards and alerts for employees that provide end-to-end visibility into the supply chainincluding the ability to track SKUs and see where a product is in any phase of its design. "When something goes out of whack, it can be dealt with quickly," Cos says. That makes it much more likely that Charmin will always be available at your local supermarket.
But most companies don't operate on just one platform, and that can make sharing data across the network even more daunting. At Ametek Inc., a $1.2 billion, Paoli, Pa.-based manufacturer of high-end scientific instruments and electric motors that operates 18 business units and 65 manufacturing plants around the globe, divisions aren't forced to migrate to a single platform. "Our company serves a wide variety of markets," says William Lawson, Ametek vice president and CIO. "To disrupt those businesses and force them to process orders in a way that doesn't help them directly wouldn't make sense." As a result, the company has no single technology standard, operates in a dozen languages, and has more than 30 separate ERP systems.
So how does Ametek maintain visibility into its supply chain, and share that insight with suppliers? The simple answer, Lawson says, is data cleanlinessan absolute must for any company that operates on multiple platforms.
Each quarter, Ametek gathers all the spending data from its operations, updates new data with the proper codes, and compares purchases from different units to get a clear picture of the company's total expenditure. The data is then translated into a common language so that a special team of procurement and technology executives can identify abnormalitiesand opportunities. This information is then shared strategically with Ametek's suppliers.
Having that cross-system view of the supply chain allows Ametek to manage two very important variables: price and flexibility. It's a tough line to tread, says Mark Hillman, a senior analyst with AMR Research. "It makes sense to source parts where you can get them cheaper, but don't forget about logistics," he says. "An apparel company might source trousers from China because it's less expensive. But it might also want to keep some inventory in the U.S., so if a particular style becomes popular, the company can increase output to meet demand. If a hot item is stuck on a boat for 45 days, you're out of luck."
Global supply-chain systems can help shorten cycle times and make inventories leaner.
At Ocean State Job Lot, a privately held North Kingstown, R.I.-based retail chain, globalization has hit home. Ocean State sells discounted products from excess merchandise and closeouts, and according to CIO Hisham Aharon, roughly a quarter of these items come from overseas. In the past, bids to sell Ocean State merchandise would come in by fax or e-mail. "Someone had to go through all the offers by hand and decide which ones were good," he says. Once the orders were set, the company would send shipping instructions to the vendor, "and from then on all the interaction we had was through the delivery service," Aharon says. Not the best way to do inventory planning, especially when goods could take weeks to arrive.
Using software from supply-chain vendor TradeStone Software Inc., Ocean State automated the entire process last June. Now, everything is done over the Web. "We get multiple offers from vendors all over the world, and the system compares them side-by-side. Once we place an order, the system does all the conversion for us, figures out the shipping schedule and tracks the order all the way to our doorstep," he says. The company not only benefits from better decisions on sourcing, but the ordering process is shortened as wellfrom three weeks to three days, on average. This has broadened product diversity and led to increased sales throughout Ocean State's more than 70 locations across New England, says Aharon.
Obviously, the primary goal of global sourcing is to lower manufacturing costs, but putting the necessary systems in place to enable that creates other benefitssuch as streamlining logistics, says Ametek's Lawson. "We were using a shipper that was pushing for price increases, but when we started aggregating the data and realized the amount of business we did with that company, we were able to renegotiate prices." The company cut more than $250,000 from logistics costs, which nearly covered its entire global IT supply-chain investment.
But the ultimate goal for any supply chain is just-in-time deliverymeeting demand with virtually no overstocks. At P&G, the goal is to create a supply chain that produces on demand. "We plan to cut our current supply-chain cycle by one-third" in three years, says Cos, saving P&G tens of millions of dollars each year.
It's not an unattainable goal, says CSC's Poirier. In fact, he says, successful global supply-chain management can lead to profit increases of as much as 8 percent. "The first points come from better sourcing and logistics, the next from improved order management and warehousing. The last 3 require you to use technology to take advantage of improved supply-chain visibility to shorten cycle times and build new revenues."
Supply-chain nirvana is an adaptive network that responds to demandsand new markets.
Just-in-time delivery is great, but even better is a supply chain that reacts quickly to changes in demand and can customize products for end users with no hiccups in the process. This concept is known as postponement. Instead of sourcing product components from various locations, bringing them to a plant to be assembled, and then shipping them to various distribution centers, products are assembled at the last minute, based on demand. "For example," says AMR's Hillman, "it's difficult to forecast how many units of 12-ounce versus 16-ounce ketchup will be consumed in a particular region in one week, so you forecast the aggregate demand across all the retail locations but postpone the final packaging until the last minute, based on real-time demand." Postponement is particularly well suited for products such as computers and automobiles.
To take advantage of postponement, companies may need to physically re-architect their supply chains, moving manufacturing plants and reorganizing business processes. AMR's Hillman suspects that companies will begin reevaluating their supply-chain infrastructures within the next few years.
And with the eventual spread of RFID to help track shipments, companies will have even greater insight. "It's gotten a lot of hype, but it's actually working," says CSC's Poirier. Wal-Mart, for example, cites a 16 percent reduction in out-of-stocks on items that have been tagged because the company can alert suppliers when stocks dip below a certain threshold.
Global supply chains will also make entering new emerging markets less painful. "Everyone knows that consumption is increasing around the world," says Poirier. "If you aren't thinking about selling into those new markets, you're missing the bet of the century."
That may be, but it'll still be a culture shift for many firms, as Lexington's Merritt can attest. "It's been hard for us," he admits. "Everyone is signing on with the WTO, and if you want to be a part of that 300-pound gorilla, you have to compete on that level. Companies don't see how badly they are going to get burned if they think they aren't going to play in the global market."


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Asian-Inspired, Genius Level Drunk Food at... Hamburger King?
Even the most plastic food strip has something real and personal and quirky in it, if you keep looking. (At least, this is what I like to believe despite 21st century America's relentless attempts to prove otherwise.) Case in point: there's no stretch of Chicago more blighted with noisy bars and oversized in-your-face signage and sheer brute Orlando-ness than Clark Street just south of Wrigley Field. Yet make the shortest of diagonal turns onto Sheffield and you'll see—for a few more days, anyway—an awning announcing "Hamburger King," accompanied by a neon sign of... a bowl of teriyaki. Which is just the tip of the living history iceberg in this spot.
History: 1942 in the wake of Pearl Harbor, and Japanese-Americans are being rounded up on the West Coast, forced out of their property into camps, right as we're gearing up for a war against people who... round up other ethnicities into camps. Anyway, Chicago, perhaps surprisingly, lets it be known that as far as our city is from the range of enemy aircraft, we're not that worried about Japanese living here. And so Japanese who can flee California wind up settling in a then mainly Swedish neighborhood around Clark and Belmont, opening restaurants and stores catering to an urbane taste for Oriental art.
Jump forward to 1959. Hamburger King was never, apparently, Japanese-owned, though it is two doors over from a bar called Nisei Lounge and, as we'll get to in a moment, its most celebrated dish was Japanese-inspired. (It was also next door to the Wobblies' bookstore for a time. Baseball and Bakunin.) But so much of Japanese Chicago is really Korean Chicago anyway, so it's an unimportant distinction.
What matters is that from (probably) 1959, it was a Korean-owned grill joint catering to late-night post-dive bar dining in the then-sketchy Lakeview area. Around 1984 a woman named Sonia Hwang bought it, and probably gradually grew into the character of the tough-as-nails owner of a late night spot full of drunks ordering breakfast at 3 a.m. and demanding payment as soon as you ordered, where the greasy spoon smell stuck for days and you really only braved the bathroom if you had to.
In other words, the place had atmosphere. Sounds great, I want to check this out, you say. Well, tough. It's gone. A Korean man named Young Lee bought it in about March and... well, you have to have known the old place to understand how shocking the sleek black countertops or the stainless steel appliances are. "Be sure to check out the bathroom," his daughter Sarah, who works the counter, urges. She knows that's all the evidence you need that this is a new day at Hamburger King.
There are new dishes—signs advertise Korean fried chicken and Bulgogi, and a menu revamp is on the way. It's also getting a new name—Rice 'N' Bread. But at the same time, the Lees know what the neighborhood loved about the place. They're keeping Sonia on as a manager and, more importantly, they're keeping the restaurant's unique notion of Asian fusion—the menu which mixes up American diner classics with old school Asian food. (Hence Rice 'N' Bread.) Most importantly... they're keeping Akutagawa.
If you saw a dish named "Hemingway" on a menu you'd assume it was named for Ernest, and so I always figured Akutagawa was named for the author whose story "Rashomon" was made famous by the filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. So it broke my heart to learn from a post on Yelp by a family member of the original owners that it was just named for the customer for whom it was invented.
Nevertheless, it's genius level drunk food for $5.95, soul-soothing but not stomach-punching. On one side, you've got white rice topped with classic American brown gravy. On the other, bean sprouts tossed with scrambled egg, typical omelet vegetables like green pepper and onions, and your choice of meat—sausage, hamburger, or chicken. You've got white or wheat toast. And finally, you've got Asian condiments—soy sauce, togarashi, hot sauce—to doctor the plain original to your own specifications of hotness and saltiness and Asian-ness.
An ancient post on the old LTHForum suggests a connection to the Japanese pancake okonomiyaki, but I'd more likely connect it to the kind of Asian fusion practiced by Navy cooks in the South Pacific tossing local ingredients in with their standard issue provisions. In any case, it should be a famous dish. It should be all over this city. There should be a version at Au Cheval that costs twenty bucks. Instead, it almost went extinct this year, except for the fact that the new owners of Hamburger King understood what needed to change and what needed to stay exactly the same about the place they bought.
Hamburger King
3435 N Sheffield Avenue Suite 1
Chicago, IL 60657 (map)
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subset: commoncrawl


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Nick Jonas is leaving the Jonas Brothers behind — for now.
The youngest of the trio, 17-year-old Nick, will embark on a month-long tour with his new band, Nick Jonas & The Administration, beginning January 2, 2010 in Dallas, Texas.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Jonas Brothers Around The World
According to a posting on the Jonas Brothers' MySpace page on Monday, Nick headed to Nashville's Black Bird Studios earlier this year, where he recorded a host of songs he'd written over the last three years that were "not quite right" for the JoBros.
Joining Nick in the studio were a number of musicians which eventually were dubbed The Administration. The outfit included drummer Michael Bland and keyboardist Tommy Barbarella who have played in the New Power Generation, and John Fields on bass.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Maria Menounos On The Road With The Jonas Brothers
The album – "Who I Am" — will drop February 2 (Groundhog Day) on Hollywood Records. A single of the same name was released today, Nick noted on his Twitter.
The new band with the teen music titan will make one of their first big music appearances performing at the Grammy Nominations Concert Live! Special, airing Wednesday December 2 on CBS at 9 PM.
And as for the January jaunt, Nick said it will be an experience.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: All Access: 'Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience' Premiere!
"With this tour we're going to try to accomplish the same thing we did in the studio. That's capturing some heart and soul in the music, and having fun doing it," he said in a statement.
While Nick will spend early 2010 on the road without Kevin and Joe Jonas, he Tweeted on Monday night how grateful he was to them for their support.
"I just have to say thanks to my brothers for being as supportive as they've been," he wrote.
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
PLAY IT NOW: Access Extended: Jonas Brothers Talk Touring, Twittering & Miley (June 16, 2009)
PLAY IT NOW: Access Exclusive: Jonas Brothers' Manhattan Mania
MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Nick Jonas - Jonas Brothers - Music - TV - Twitter


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Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Spiritual Formation Q & A
A few days ago, a former student from my days as a youth minister sent Dana and I a few questions about Spiritual Formation for a project she was doing for a college class. Below are her questions followed by my answers. (If you'd like to see Dana's responses to the same questions CLICK HERE)
Q: How would you define "spirituality" or the "spiritual life"?
A: Spirituality: In both Greek and Hebrew, the word in the Bible that is translated as "spirit" also legitimately means "breath" and "wind" (Greek: pneuma and Hebrew: ruah). I think this is more than significant. Spirituality is about life and movement. I'd further argue that its specifically about moving further and further along the path to living "life to the full", as Jesus promises in John 10. Further, I think it has to do with living a God-directed (though not micromanaged) life that relies on guidance from God through his Spirit, as Jesus specifically describes in John 3. It's learning to understand that God is the source of true life, breathing that life in and exhaling it back out to the world around you (that he so loves). Its knowing that the same breath of God that is giving life to you is available to all, and understanding & embracing the connection. Its letting the wind of his Spirit fill your sails and propel you wherever it sends you, knowing that adventure awaits. Sometimes, its letting that breath sustain you when it seems like theres nothing else that can, and letting the wind propel you when you don't feel you have the energy to go on.
Q: What are some practices or things you do that play a formational role in your spiritual life?
A: Praying with Dana has jumped to the top of my list recently. This is one of the most life-giving practices that I've ever incorporated (I'm glad she suggested it). Also, I periodically incorporate fixed-hour prayer, especially when I'm having trouble praying spontaneously. I've found that art (music, visual, literature, etc) has begun to play a huge role in spiritual formation for me. Sometimes it intentional engagement with/enjoyment of it, and sometimes its the creation of it. Additionally the continual decision to remain in community with a church (congregation) is undeniably formational. To remain connected to diverse people (which can often be difficult) in a culture that tells me to just be a good consumer and treat these people collectively as a commodity that can be disposed of and traded for a newer, sleeker, more convenient model (which can also be traded later), shapes character in decisively positive and counter-cultural ways. (We could have a separate conversation about working as a minister in this situation, but I think that might take us too far off topic for now.) I'd also argue that whenever I'm engaged in works of service, both individually and collaboratively with others, to those who can offer no direct benefit (to myself or the church), my character is formed and shaped in positive, sometimes counterintuitive ways. I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention reading good books. The practice of reading has been an invaluable part of my spiritual formation. When I don't make time for it, my spirituality tends to suffer.
Q: What difference does it make for you to worship/fast/pray/praise communally/corporately vs. individually? Which do you prefer?
A: It's interesting that in the Bible, the only real reason you are given for gathering together appears to be to spur one another on toward love and good deeds," and to encourage one another (Hebrews 10). For this reason, I think corporate worship is essential (as that would be impossible to do alone). However, in our consumer culture we are somehow simultaneously tempted to believe that, a) Christian spirituality is really all about me as an individual (consumer), and b) the cultivation of my personal spirituality is the responsibility of the church (as my chosen and dispensable provider of religious goods and services) to cultivate within reasonable but optional time periods that don't take too much away from my already busy life. Both temptations must be resisted if we are to in any sense actually engage in worship, much less spiritual formation. Biblically, worship appears to be directed to God, but clearly involves our engagement in the lives of others for their encouragement and good. Loving God without loving others is an impossibility, and worshipping God devoid of any connection to others is a farce. In the context of The Lord's Supper/Eucharist, Paul tells the Corinthians that to partake of it devoid of community (without "discerning the body of Christ", which he's already defined as community with other believers), is to render it as not the Lord's Supper but your own, and further to eat and drink condemnation upon yourself. With all of that being said, a follower of the Way of Jesus also has the responsibility to cultivate formational spiritual practices within his or her own life. This is particularly true for me as a minister. No true growth comes from being comfortable and passive. I don't guess I have a preference, and I'm not sure it matters if I did. If anything, I think it would be an indicator that I should dive deeper into the one I didn't prefer, if it is actually growth that I seek.
Q: Of the "Spiritual disciplines", which is the most difficult for you? Do you see this as reason to push into this practice more or less?
A: Honestly, the one I struggle with the most is prayer. I'm not totally sure why this is, but I do see it as a reason to push into the practice more.
Q: When/how do you feel most connected with God? Prayer, praise, silence, service, something else?
A: This is a difficult question to answer. The best way I know to answer is, when I get outside myself. I'm finding more and more that God is found in connections. The ancient rabbis taught that when God created the world, he created it in a state of Shalom. This word means something like peace and harmony combined and on steroids. ;) They further argued that this Shalom basically played out in 3 ways: Harmony between God and People, Harmony between People and Other People, & Harmony between People and Creation. I find that the more I move into isolation, the more distant God seems to be, (Go figure!). I find that the more I look at and experience how everything is connected--in relationships, in nature, in worship, etc.--the more present God seems.
Q: When speaking with someone about growing in their relationship with Christ, how would you advise them to move forward?
A: I'd advise them to connect with a community of faith. I'd tell them not to look for a perfect one, as they don't exist, but rather to seek one that seems to be sincerely seeking to follow the Way of Jesus, and that is most obviously characterized by things like faith, hope and love. I'd also advise them to pray regularly, both alone and with others whom they love and respect. I'd advise them to do this, even if they didn't fully believe in the effectiveness of the practice yet. I'm also quite sure I'd have some books to recommend to them, relative to their particular situation.
Q: What do you perceive as the goal of these "practices"?
A: I see the goal of these practices is to form me/us further and further into the image of Christ, and to understand that this will be an ongoing, unfinished process that goes on for the rest of my life. It is to engage me/us in the Story of God; to help us find our place in it. It is to embrace our identity as children of light and people of love. It is to form us into the kinds of people who would actually be happy about it if God does what he promises in the end: The Restoration of All Things, The Renewal of All Things, The Reconciliation of All Things, The Lifting Up of The Downtrodden, etc, (See the Hebrew Prophets for more). It is to develop "eyes to see" and "ears to hear". It is to engage us in actively living life to the full, in partnership with God, in pursuit of his dream for the world.
Posted by Adam at Tuesday, November 22, 2011
5 comments:
- Jessica Dotta said...
Hi Adam,
I found your blog as I researched for a blog project. Would you drop a me a line, I think you might be interested in what I'm doing. bookgirl4 [at] att.net.
- Steve Martin said...
A very creative way to share the gospel!
- Ben said...
I appreciate what you are doing. I like especially liked the definitions on spirituality. Thanks.
- Al Lachner said...
I love your blog. It is relevant and inspiring.
- LaWanda said...
I know this might sound dumb but what is the meaning of "discerning the body of Christ"?
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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thinking about trolleys
Somewhere in the back of my mind I think I need one of these trolley/carts in my life. Maybe I'd only use it to throw books on or I'd stick a lamp on it and use it as a side table. And then I imagine Elin getting older and pulling everything out of it and making a big mess or Israel pushing it from room to room...
Ok, this might have to live on in my mind for a while longer. In the meantime here are a few options, though I should have also include the classic Artek 901 tea trolley because that really would be my first choice!
(listed left to right, top to bottom)
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Other Stories
8 comments:
these are all insanely beautiful!ReplyDelete
Yes, I feel you... My son is at an age where he's pulling everything down, out, and/or around. I had to completely empty my living room of all things nice and breakable. I stare at empty tabletops wishing I could tchotchke-fy them...ReplyDelete
xx/ www.hometohem.com
love that dwr and black cart. love that they can serve so many purposes and look good doing it.ReplyDelete
I have never been a fan of trolleys but these all look amazing!ReplyDelete
what a fantastic idea to use a trolley for a side table! love all of these options :)ReplyDelete
Adore this fun addition to a room!ReplyDelete
LOVE the white one! So fun and modern.ReplyDelete
I had that on my mind too, but i need it to make a mini bar at home, martinis, drinks, flowers, fancy glasses. But i havent found one for my budget, i have to pay double price to bring it here to my country, and in my country those brands cost more jjee, it so frustrating to not have what you which, i cant not even get cheap ikea frames for my poster i bought and won in giveaways, and here they cost a fortune. Hope you can get yours!!! The good one, i can be minimal jejeje Let me know when you decide. Greetings.ReplyDelete
Thank you for your comments, I love hearing from you!
Questions, comments or sponsorship inquires, please contact me via the 'contact' link.


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Body Balance Health and Fitness, 2749 Iris Ave,, Boulder, 303-562-5963, bodybalanceboulder.com
Instructor: Owner Jason Busch, of Boulder, has been teaching fitness for more than 20 years. Busch is a Fairview High graduate who attended the University of Colorado. He began personal training in 1995, and he opened his first gym in 1997.
His wife, Silvana, owns the yoga studio, Vida Yoga, next door.
What is the workout? An "athletic development class."
"Whether you're a weekend warrior, a professional athlete or someone just trying to get in shape, we want to bring out the athlete in you," Busch says.
Classes start with "tissue quality" work using a foam roller. Then the format spans mobility work, a dynamic warm-up, the work and core work (which can last as long as 50 minutes) and then regeneration using a foam roller again. Each class uses different exercises, which might typically include a jumping component, an athletic component (such as kettlebell swings, or something that requires movement through a wide range of motion), and core movement (but no crunches or exercises that flex the spine).
Body Balance uses a wide range of equipment, including kettlebells, the TRX system, battling ropes, traditional weights, Olympic plates, sledgehammers, medicine balls, large tires, little tires, Airdynes, rowers, jump ropes, bands and boxes.
Busch is a huge advocate of using foam rollers for "self-myofascial release." In other words, it restores the natural glide of the muscle fibers to keep them in the best working order.
What's different: When you look into the facility, you will initially think it looks like a CrossFit studio. But Busch says it's different.
Although Body Balance uses some of the same movements, here "you get the attention to the details, the warm-up, the attention to the small muscle groups." Workouts tend to be longer and more progressive. "I don't do heavy strength-training in a class format," he says. "My classes are more athletic, challenging both linearly and laterally, but also doable."
The studio has a strong emphasis on ample floor space. Even if you can't make it to the class, Busch leaves the workout plan on the board for students to use independently.
What does it cost? $20 per drop-in, with many different package options to bring the prices down.
When: Check website for schedule. There are many classes throughout the week.
Level: All levels. Most of the other participants are regulars, so Busch is able to give a lot of personal attention to newbies.
He aims for each participant to be in a seven to 10 range on a 10-point intensity scale. I definitely see how this class could push you to a 10. I was as close to maxing out with a 10 as I've been in a long time.
Still, the class was enjoyable for several reasons. First, the circuits were of varying lengths, so some would take me three minutes to complete, whereas another only 30 seconds; this helped the pace of the class.
Second, although all the exercises were extremely difficult, many were new to me and mentally challenging, as well. I found myself (sadistically?) looking forward to them, wondering if I would be able to master them this round. For example, lunges and box step-ups while carrying a "slosh pipe," a large pipe partially filled with water. It constantly sloshed around, challenging one's balance.
Another new, crazy exercise was basically beating a large tire with a heavy sledgehammer. Mastering the technique enlisted my central nervous system and coordination, which distracted me from realizing how many muscles this exercise worked.
What to prepare: Regular workout clothes, good shoes, water. Towels provided.
Muscles worked: Full body, with an emphasis on core and squat-push-pull. The class has very little overhead work.
What I loved: Busch might be a psychic magician. Somehow he was able to walk around the facility, helping other students, and walk back to me minutes later and know the exact number of repetitions I was on. He did this with every exercise, even though it is humanly impossible. I am still trying to figure out how he did it.
What it tells me is that he is completely tuned in to his students. And that it's impossible to cheat in his class, even by one rep.
I really appreciated how attentive he was and how well he explained not just how to do the exercises, but also why to do them and how they would affect my body. This is what small-group personal training is supposed to look like. This class should be a model for other teachers.
Also, this class didn't feel competitive at all. The other participants were welcoming and encouraging — and, honestly, working too hard on their own to think about how anyone else was doing.
What I didn't like: I can't complain. This class rocked. It'd be a great way to make some quick fitness progress this summer. I would go back.
How I felt after the class: I woke up the next morning, and my abs felt so strong that I fleetingly understood why women wear crop tops. Then I remembered it's not 1992 and I'm 34 stinking years old.
I also felt sore in my upper arms, but my soreness wasn't overwhelming. I think that stems from the foam roller work after class that released my muscles. It's incredible to have worked that hard but feel so good the next day.
— Reported by Aimee Heckel.
Know of any interesting workouts? Tell us about them so we can check them out: firstname.lastname@example.com or 303-473-1359.


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AK_Brickster wrote:Hey guys, let's not let those Loreesi and Lenfels show us up! Our fearless leader, Jhirian Eindrik, would like you to put together your best representation of your Garheim forces and post a picture here. We need to show them our matchless military might!
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AOL's stock fell 6% Thursday after shareholders defied an activist's attempt to unseat three directors by voting to re-elect all eight members of AOL's board, including CEO Tim Armstrong.
"On behalf of AOL's Board and management team, we want to thank our stockholders for their strong support throughout this process," said AOL in a statement.
One of AOL's biggest investors, activist hedge fund Starboard Value, was pushing shareholders to elect the new directors to ensure that AOL stockholders "are appropriate represented in the boardroom." Starboard owns a 5% stake in AOL.
In a shareholder proposal included in AOL's proxy statement in April, Starboard CEO Jeff Smith, argued that "AOL has poor corporate governance given the combined role of chairman and CEO as well as certain potential conflicts of interest regarding AOL's heavy investment in its money-losing Patch business."
Armstrong fought back in a letter to shareholders last month. The CEO, who took the helm in 2009, highlighted the company's strong-performing stock and refuted Starboard's claims, calling the hedge fund's campaign "short-sighted" and "misleading."
Shares of AOL (AOL) are up almost 70% this year. The stock got a big boost in April after the company announced that it was selling hundreds of patents to Microsoft (MSFT) for more than $1 billion.
"It has become clear to us that Starboard's and Mr. Smith's increasingly vitriolic campaign to secure board representation and foist Starboard's misguided strategy on AOL is not designed to benefit all of AOL's stockholders generally, but to establish Mr. Smith's bona fides as an 'activist' investor and to garner him the publicity and prestige of a board seat at AOL," said Armstrong in the letter.>
Though AOL won the proxy fight, the company said it intends "to be responsive to the messages we heard from our investors and will continue our plans to pursue adding two new independent directors to the Board, who we believe will add additional expertise and relevant perspectives to further enhance the strength of our Board."
Smith said Starboard is "thankful" for the support it got from shareholders in its effort.
"For Starboard, we measure success by enhancing value for all shareholders, thereby producing returns for our investors," he said in a statement. "AOL adopted many of our suggestions, taking AOL stock from near an all-time low to near an all-time high."
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Apricot Capital is a seed stage investment firm based in Boston and Toronto. Apricot was founded in 2010 by partners Peter Wernau and Jennifer Lum; colleagues of many years interested in investing in smart entrepreneurs and sharing their combined financial and operational expertise. Apricot invests in early-stage technology companies in the US and Canada.
Peter Wernau
Peter is the Managing Partner of Apricot Capital. He also serves as President and CEO of Wernau Asset Management. Since starting Wernau Asset Management in 2003, Mr. Wernau has co-founded several other complimentary active companies including Back Bay Mortgage Brokers LLC and Dartmouth Street Ventures.
Twitter: @pwernau
Jennifer Lum
Jennifer is a Co-founder of Apricot Capital. She is also a Co-founder of Adelphic. Jennifer was a core team member of Quattro Wireless (acquired by Apple), m-Qube (acquired by VeriSign) and WebHosting.com (acquired by SBC Communications) and has also worked as a management consultant with several public corporations. Jennifer is a mentor at 500 Sartups and TechStars.
Twitter: @lum


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S.A. gets professional soccer team
The North American Soccer League has approved a franchise for San Antonio, to begin play in the 2012 season.
The North American Soccer League has approved a franchise for San Antonio, to begin play in the 2012 season. The team, to be named, will be primarily owned by businessman Gordon Hartman and play at his 14-field South Texas Area Regional Soccer Complex.
The announcement caps a months-long effort by Hartman to secure a pro team to anchor his STAR facility and provide a further financial stream to support the adjacent Morgan's Wonderland for children with special needs.
"Two reasons I got involved in this is there is a market here for soccer and we wanted to structure a place that allows for us to have a soccer team in San Antonio that can aggressively help Morgan's Wonderland," Hartman said.
Aaron Davidson, CEO of the NASL, said today that San Antonio has been awarded an expansion franchise in the league. The NASL last month submitted its application to the U.S. Soccer Federation to officially become the only second-division pro soccer league in the United States.
"We're about as excited as can be," Davidson said from his Miami office. "This is a unique opportunity to continue to grow soccer in the United States. We're a league that's going to develop teams at the highest of levels."
A purchase price for the new franchise was not revealed. Hartman, who has worked with DAO Sports and Entertainment in securing the team, will work over the next year to solicit funds to expand his STAR complex to include a stadium to accommodate the new team.
DAO is co-owned by San Antonio businessman Pepe Mirabent and former Mexico national team star Jorge Campos.
How this impacts Spurs Sports & Entertainment's efforts to secure a pro soccer team in San Antonio is unclear. Leo Gomez, vice-president of public affairs for the organization, declined to comment on the NASL's announcement.
The Spurs reportedly have had discussions with the San Antonio ISD about locating a ballclub at Alamo Stadium, should a bond issue to be voted on next month pass. Those bonds would be used, in part, to upgrade the historic stadium.
Both sides have denied that any planned partnership is in place.
"We are focused on supporting SAISD with its bond issue and have committed to not discussing soccer until sometime after the election," Gomez said today.
According to the NASL website, the San Antonio team would be the 12th in its fold.
During the current season, the U.S. Soccer Federation is overseeing a hybrid league that includes a dozen total teams from the NASL and rival United Soccer League.
FC Edmonton, which became a member of the NASL in November, will begin play in April of next year.
By giving the new teams "at least one season's lead time," Davidson said, "we give the NASL and our teams the necessary time to prepare and launch successfully."


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It wasn't long ago that we first introduced our latest canvas, an '02 C5 Z06 Corvette, dubbed Project Twitch.
If you recall, we invited your thoughts on what direction to take our ride, and the majority of you said to kick it up a notchsome of you even took the time to include detailed wish lists. Well, we heard you and we've already produced a complete plan of action; of course, all of it will be covered in the coming months.
This month, we're addressing the suspension. Bear in mind that the factory offering is pretty incredible; it's a lot more than most people will ever be able to take full advantage of. We should also mention that if you're into SCCA class racing, you'll know that the C5 Zs are extremely competitive cars right out of the box, and altering from the stock stuff will generally place you in a class reserved for serious chassis cars. We have no plans to compete in a specific class; instead, we tend to participate in autocross and open-track events as an exhibition car, so that throws any class-specific rules right out the window.
When it came to finding the ideal suitor for our Z, we went with LG Motorsports (LGM) in Wylie, Texas. The folks at LGM have been in the business of racing and designing hard-core suspension components for well over 35 years and have plenty of real-world track experience by competing in everything from the Corvette Challenge to the World Challenge series to the coveted American Le Mans GT2 division.
After a lengthy conversation discussing our needs and goals, we decided to install a complete LGM suspension package, which includes the GT2 coilovers with 12-way adjustable shocks and the G1 front and rear sway bar assembly. Combined, these offer infinite adjustability, both in ride quality and setting up the ride height for every kind of driving you do. And even though the LGM components may seem exotic, anyone looking to do a similar install will appreciate just how affordable this setup really is. Priced at $2,395 (add $250 for the quiet endlinks), this all-in-one system will transform any C5 into a serious tracking machine, all while offering a plush ride for those long road trip excursions.
To outfit our Z with the LGM goodies, we headed to Motivational Engineering in Carson, California, where owner Mike Saiki handled the job in a day. The installation was straightforward with minimal effort, however, it was Saiki who recommended we complete the install by scaling the car. Even with the good stuff, it takes a well-balanced chassis to keep the tires on the ground and maximize your efforts as you traverse through any course. Follow along as we show you what it takes to transform your prized Z from a weekend thrill ride to a world-class performer.
|Ride Height
|Front Left
|Front Right
|Rear Left
|Rear Right
|LG Motorsports Coilovers
|Front Left
|Front Right
|Rear Left
|Rear Right
Getting Scaled
From the beginning, we scaled our Z to get a better idea of just how it sat from the factory. Truth be told, it was impressive, weighing in at 3,148 pounds with a full tank of fuel and showed our crossweight percentage at 50 percent. Once everything was installed, we weighed the car again, revealing identical 3,148 numbers. We had no idea whether to expect a significant increase or decrease, but we certainly didn't see that coming. After probing into this, we learned that the GT2 coilover assembly actually removed 13.4 pounds from the chassis; however, the G1 sway bars are slightly heavier over the factory counterpart due to their size, putting us right back to our factory weight. What we did see was a change in the weight distribution, with the rear ending up around 5 pounds lighter, changing the crossweight percentage to 49.3. Our goal was to meet the original 50 percent, only this time with the driver inside. To do this, we disconnected the rear G1 sway bar and ended up altering the ride height slightly from the front passenger side coilover. We'll have a better idea of how the chassis will react on the road course, but for the time being, this would allow us to compare the results with our original baseline numbers.
The Results
The end product was well worth it and certainly validated. For our 420-foot slalom course, we bested our previous numbers by 0.11, running a best of 5.68 at 51 mph over the 5.79 at 49-mph baseline. Keep in mind; we're going quicker, maneuvering the car through cones all the while gaining speed. On a road course application, and depending on the length of the track, these numbers can quickly add up to secondswhich is huge under competition conditions. The biggest difference was consistency. During previous testing, it would take several laps to procure good numbers, whereas this time, shy of scrubbing the cones, every run besting our previous outing.
When it came to the shock settings, we initially placed them at 6/6, front/rear, but by the end of the day, we set them at 8/7, front/rear, for our final results. Even on the street, these settings seemed to work well for us. Firm? Slightly, but it's still compliant under rough road conditions and comfortable enough for any road trip. And for those looking for a softer ride, a few turns of the shock settings and you're good to go; it's really that easy.
Stock Slalom (On Nitto NT05 tires) 5.89
LGM Modified 5.68


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Here's how to make a jeweled collar necklace: find a picture of your favorite expensive collared necklace, then go make one of your own for five thousand dollars less. Easy as pie.
Have you jumped on the collar necklace trend? Yep, I've tried a peter pan version and even a chain one. But not long ago I was ohhing and ahhing over a Kate Spade necklace that was shaped like a triangle, like the points of a shirt collar. What a fun shape! Lucky for me (and you!) it's easy to DIY your own.
Here's the how to make your own jeweled collared necklace:
This necklace won't break the bank either because you only need a few basic materials.
Supplies for collared necklace:
- Black felt
- Plastic gems – mine are from the scrap-booking section!
- Black ribbon
- Jewel glue
First decide how you want the necklace to look like (see above Kate Spade), and what colors you want. I went with black and clear gems because black and white is a huuuuge trend right now. But a single color, neon or even emerald would all look great. You can easily customize your colors by painting the gems with nail polish, (that's a whole how-to in and of itself!).
Then fold your sheet of felt in half and sketch out one side of the collar. You can even use one of your button down shirts to get the shape right. With the felt folded, cut the triangle so you end up with two identical sides connected in the middle.
Lay out your jewels until you are happy with the colors and pattern. Play with using different shapes or turning them in different directions until you've laid it out exactly how you want it to look.
When you finalize a design, take a picture with your phone. Or if you don't have a camera phone, quickly sketch out the pattern. You'll be surprised how quickly you forget the design you just decided to make!
Apply jewel glue to the back of each gem and press it in place on the felt. If you are using scrap-booking gems, they will have a sticky back. Peel this off before applying the glue so the gem adheres fully and lays flat.
Then cut two pieces of ribbon – about 8 inches – and glue the ends to the back side of the felt.
After you've let the gems dry completely, cut the edges of the felt so that it's not sticking out around the gems. And you're done!
This necklace is great layered over a button down shirt – I love the double collar! What do you think of the blingy collar trend? Is it something you would wear? How will you design yours?


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Publications & Events
Attached is a comprehensive summary of the Administrative, Electric, Miscellaneous, Gas, Hydro and Certificate matters on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's meeting agenda for December 12, 2013 pursuant to the agenda as issued on December 12, 2013. Please note that the Commission can add or delete agenda items prior to the meeting.
Each month, White & Case provides brief summaries of the agenda items for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's monthly meeting.
Click here to download PDF.
Search for more Summaries of FERC Meeting Agendas.
This publication is provided for your convenience and does not constitute legal advice. This publication is protected by copyright.
© 2013 White & Case LLP


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7590 S Broadway Centennial, CO 80122
Courtesy Acura offers you a huge variety of SUVs, sedans, minivans, hybrid, electrics and trucks, to choose from in a hassle-free manner. Our team is ready to offer the best services of leasing, financing, servicing and trading. We have parts and accessories department at our dealership to customize your Acura according to you. Stop by and see us in person at 7590 S Broadway Centennial, CO 80122.
Accelerate your dreams with new you brand new car or low-cost used certified car. Avail best offers on all makes and models of latest Sedan, luxury SUV, or upcoming Hatchback. Explore best car financing offers and expert auto care services.
Get New & Used Cars Loan at Low rates and special Savings. Avail best offers on the monthly interest rate, APR, and more. Get pre-approved quickly without impacting credit score.
Get best offers on all repair and maintenance services like body kits and upgrades, wheel alignment, vehicle diagnostic and more.
Selling your used car, SUV or a truck is easy and hassle-free with us. Share the details about your old vehicle, on-call. We will instantly offer the best trade-in value for it and quickly offer a free pickup leaving you with your with cash for car.
Head towards the best and buy your new or used Acura cars today at Courtesy Acura. Reach us online or visit us at 7590 S Broadway Centennial, CO 80122.


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McCormick Vodka 1L
Quadruple distilled. Made from pristine American Grain and ranks as one of the leading spirits natio…
All sizes are 750ml unless otherwise stated.
Vintages are subject to change at anytime.
Items shown on the website may or may not be in stock.
Images and products on the website are subject to change at any time.


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Sounds like everything you need to get some amazing eyes going on. You can conceal, contour, shadow, and line all with this kit. Benefit always puts out amazing products that do what they claim.
Benefit Cosmetics Primpcess - Glamorous Eye Primping Kit
Total Beauty Web Tour
Lots of great stuff going on among my Total Beauty bloggers this week! Check it out!
Viva Woman tells you why you should not steam your face too often.
Enter now to win a Imprint On My Heart custom pendant valued at $400 from Girl-Woman-Beauty-Brains-Blog.
Beauty411 loves the new Chanel Smokey Eye Collection and tells you how to get the smokey eye look seen all over the runways at Fashion Week!
Beauty Anonymous reviews Shiseido Integrate Glamerous Rouge lip gloss!
Visit A Mom in Red High Heels for your chance to WIN a $110 worth of Avon anti-aging products and Bond Girl 007 fragrance! Hurry! Deadline is September 22.
Boutique Flair reviews DDF Protect And Correct UV Moisturizer SPF 15!
The Beauty Alchemistloves Victoria's Secret Very Sexy Dare Fragrance
The Anti Hair Slave has fallen in love with Missoni AcquaThe Makeup Divas reviews Tarte Lips Ahoy!
Fabulous Over Forty reviews the new designer makeup lines at Target.
My interview with Project Runway's Nina Garcia-by Talking Makeup!
Has something finally come between Christine and her CoverGirl Lash Blast? Head on over toBeauty in Real Life and find out what mascara could make her think twice.
Glossypink tells you which posh products Victoria Beckham can't live without!
Spoiled Pretty is hosting a fashtastic giveaway. Enter to win products from Urban Decay's fall 2008 collection...plus a sinfully chic Ananas clutch to put them in!!!
Kat Von D Lightning Lip Gloss
Kat Von D is getting into the dark lip trend by releasing Gunshine, a smoky gray/black with shimmer. While it's not the black gloss that i'm lusting after, I will probably give this one a whirl. (via Jenny Muller)
Patricia Field at HSN.com
I never thought I'd browse for clothes at HSN.com, but I've often skimmed their beauty offerings. However, I heard that Sex and the City stylist Patricia Field was releasing her own line exclusively for HSN, and wanted to go check it out. I'm far more apt to purchase a stylists line than a celebrity one, since I think stylists have a much better handle on silhouettes, trends, and overall looks. The line is very 80's-heavy, and might not work for anyone over a size 6, but there are still some pieces worth checking out.
See more of my Patricia Field at HSN.com list at ThisNext.
Gap's Fall 2008 Offerings Worth Having
Everyone has been going on about Patrick Robinson's recent save of Gap, but I wasn't blown away, I did find a few fantastic basics which is what I've always gone to Gap for. So in that regard, I wasn't disappointed.
See more of my Gap's Fall 2008 Offerings Worth Having list at ThisNext.
If You Live in NYC, You Must Get On This: Ted Gibson Salon Hosting Cut-a-Thon
Mark your calendars, NYC girls: the Ted Gibson salon is hosting a "cut-a-thon" on Sunday, September 21 from 10 AM to 5 PM to benefit Carbon Zero, in an effort to reduce the salon's carbon footprint. 100% of the money raised for the event will be donated to Carbon Zero to plant trees. Ted Gibson salon has raised about $10,000 since beginning the event two years ago.
Here are the details:
Hairdressers from NYC's ted gibson salon will be volunteering their time for $50 cuts, normally $95. No appointments necessary, unless you'd like to book a $300 cut with Ted Gibson – his haircuts usually cost $950! Looking for color? Single process and partials highlights only: $75-$100, normally $100-$400.The salon is located at 184 Fifth Avenue, on the second floor. Call (212) 633.6333 to book your appointment.
Congratulations to our First Winner of the Bliss Triple Oxygen Facial Mask
Congratulations to Elizabeth, our very first giveaway winner here at Daily Dose of Coffee! She has won the super-fantastic Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask.
Elizabeth, email me your address, and I will get your prize off to you ASAP. And keep reading, everyone - we have a lot more giveaways coming!
Beauty Bytes: Gold Medal Foundations
TotalBeauty.com content:
One of these 14 crowd pleasers from Revlon, Prescriptives, MAC and more could give your skin a flawless finish -- sans airbrush experts
We've heard complaints about foundation ranging from too heavy and drying to too light and oily, not to mention "too few shades" and "too expensive." So we made a list of the foundations that garnered praise from TotalBeauty.com members. Check out which brands and formulas got the most consumer stamps of approval and consider whether you should switch to something new.
40 Limited Edition Crystallized Swarovski Elements Contact Lens Cases to be Given Away by Baush and Lomb
Isn't it pretty? Head over to ReNuCares.com and enter to win one of these gorgeous contact lens cases. The giveaway is benefitting the Susan G. Komen Foundation and will be going on all through October, which is also Breast Cancer Awareness month. This contact lens giveaway supplements the two-year partnership that Bausch & Lomb has established with Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and Bausch and Lomb has committed to raise up to $400,000 for the organization.
By downloading one of the coupons from ReNuCares. com and redeeming it, you will be automatically entered to win one of the Crystallized Swarovski Elements limited edition contact lens cases. No purchase is necessary to be entered to win. Moreover, Bausch & Lomb will donate $1 to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure for every coupon that is redeemed at a local mass retailer.
The case is gorgeous, too. It's created with 646 hand applied crystal components and features the hallmark Susan G. Komen for the Cure ribbon and it has a retail value of approximately $350.
Beauty Bytes: Hair from the VMA's
TotalBeauty.com content:
Britney Spears stole the night but Rihanna, Miley Cyrus and others held their own at the show
Why do we love the MTV Video Music Awards? Because unlike the Oscars, where stars tend to play it safe, anything goes at the VMAs. Celebrities show up in some of the most sexy, glamorous and just plain bizarre looks. Check out our standout picks from the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards.
There is a New Kit in Town: Tricks of the Trade by Too Faced
I think Too Faced makes some fantastic cosmetics. They are consistently easy to use, reasonably priced, and always do exactly what they say they are going to do. Their Magic Wand Illuminating Foundation in New York Light is a daily use for me.
Recently, they released a great collection, especially for anyone new to the brand. The Too Faced Tricks of The Trade Makeup Collection comes with some excellent basics such as Too Faced Lash Injection Mini, Absolutely Invisible Pressed Powder, Shadow Insurance, Lip of Luxury in Totally Nude and Duo Eyeshadow in Totally Toasted.
Shadow Insurance is an excellent alternative to Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion. Does exactly the same thing and is a bit cheaper, especially given the packaging problem. Totally Toasted is a beautiful shimmery neutral duo that you will find yourself wearing often. I've actually hit pan on mine. And my love for Lash Injection is well documented here.
Preview Estee Lauder's New Re-Nutriv Ultimate Youth Eye Creme at ideeli
What if you were the first to experience the luxury of an ageless face?
Mrs. Estée Lauder believed that every woman should put her best face forward. She had that in mind in 1958 when she introduced Re-Nutriv Creme. Now in 2008, the company has reached a breakthrough with its new Re-Nutriv Ultimate Youth Eye Creme, containing a Youth Molecule, derived from the anti-oxidant Resveratrol. In vitro testing has shown that the Youth Molecule more than doubles the survival rate of skin cells.
This revolutionary, soon to be launched product will preview on ideeli, the first invitation-only online shopping community. We are thrilled to celebrate Estée Lauder's rich history and latest breakthrough by offering five lucky winners a giveaway duo which includes: the Re-Nutriv Ultimate Youth Creme duo (value of $350 combined) with an exclusive online event this week.
And for my fabulous readers, I have a special invitation code from ideeli just for you! Head on over to ideeli and use the invitation code renutriv, enter to win and pick up your own jar of Re-Nutriv Eye Cream.
Birthdays, MAC Counters, and Other Stuff
Hello my pretties! No worries, I haven't run off and left the blog to die a slow death: it was my birthday on the 11th, and I have been super busy ever since then!
To celebrate my birthday (and get some new stuff) I went to the MAC counter to get my face done. I mentioned that I really liked the Cult of Cherry collection, and even had a few of the lipsticks, but that the quads kind of scared me. Especially the one with the lime/chartreuse green. So of course my SA decided to show me the light and ended up giving me an amazing eye that I didn't photograph, to my dismay, leaving me to give you the substandard one to the left. So sorry. Anyway, I loved it and ended up buying the quad, of course. Plus I got to play with some of the new things that are launching on Thursday. Let me just tell you - the new eyeliners that are coming out are FAB. You will love them.
I also treated myself to the Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box. A-MA-Zing. Seriously. Look for some bright eye photos coming soon. I've been inspired lately by Eye Candy: 55 Easy Makeup Looks for Glam Lids and Luscious Lashes by Linda Mason, which I highly recommend, and I'll be doing some very different looks soon.
And finally, I leave you with a photo of my other two recent purchases: my Maxx New York bag and my black stiletto heels. Apparently I had the naughty secretary look going on Saturday night while I drank shots that looked like Kool-Aid to celebrate getting one year older.
And now I must go put my credit cards down before I end up in debtors' prison.
Total Beauty Bytes: 18 Life-Changing Beauty Products
TotalBeauty.com members say you can't live without these makeup and hairstyle wonders from MAC, Clinique, Paul Mitchell and more
Instead of showcasing the latest innovations or celebrity favorites, we're paying homage to the products TotalBeauty.com members consider staples in their makeup bags and bathroom cabinets. See which goods earned enough glowing beauty product reviews to rise to "can't-live-without-it" status. They may just be the answers to your beauty prayers.


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| 13.4°C Belfast
Three men have been arrested on suspicion of murder over the disappearance of 15-year-old Lee Boxell who vanished 26 years ago.
The trio, aged 41, 42 and 78, are also suspected of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and indecency with children, along with a 42-year-old woman, Scotland Yard said.
Detectives renewed appeals for information early last year, and said they feared that Lee, who went missing in 1988, could have been killed after witnessing child abuse at a popular teenage hang-out in Cheam, south-west London.
The teenager was last seen in the High Street in Sutton, and detectives originally assumed he had gone to watch a football match at Selhurst Park.
However he had never been to the ground before and was in Sutton High Street at 2.20pm, which would not have left enough time for him to get there for kick-off.
Police also discovered that he used to spend time in an outbuilding at St Dunstan's Church, dubbed "the Shed", a gathering place for teenagers that became a target for sexual predators.
Speaking about the case last year, Detective Inspector John McQuade said: " The Shed attracted maybe not vulnerable teenagers but bored teenagers. This was an era without mobile phones or social networking sites, so people would be drawn to a physical location to spend time with their friends.
"Once you get a group of youngsters in that kind of environment they are going to be vulnerable. Some of them were as young as 12 or 13. There are people out there like Jimmy Savile who will take advantage of people like that."
A number of paedophiles were operating in the area at the time. One, William Lambert, was convicted of abusing four girls and jailed for 11 years in 2011, but police have not linked his case to Lee's disappearance.
Detectives us ed radar to look for any disturbance in the graves surrounding the Shed and carried out further searches last spring.
When he disappeared, Lee was 5ft 6in and of slim build with light brown hair and was wearing black jeans, a white Flintstones T-shirt and brown suede shoes.
Despite Scotland Yard's longest ever forensic archaeological dig in the churchyard, no body has ever been found.
Detectives are also investigating the possibility that Lee himself was sexually assaulted and later died.


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Anna Savino
Location: San Lazzaro Saluzzo, 12
Transplanted from Napa to PIemonte Italy... I blog for a passion about food, wine, and Italian culture. For now just discovering Piemonte one step (sip) at a time with big dreams to do wine tours in Italy. Hopefully I can help with any travel/wine ?'s!


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Borland Software is flogging its JBuilder, Delphi, C++ and C# business while buying Segue Software, in a strategy to reverse corporate losses by focusing on software performance instead of development.
Borland, which saw revenue from sales of its software drop by nearly a quarter during its fourth quarter and for the year, said on Wednesday that it is looking for a buyer for its Java and Windows integrated development environment (IDE) business.
The company, which was once a market share leader in Java tools and second only to Microsoft on the Windows platform, is buying Segue in a $100m cash transaction. Segue, a Borland partner, provides software quality and testing tools.
Borland's recently recruited chief executive Tod Nielsen said in a statement the move is a "natural extension of our focus to expand beyond development and into software delivery"."
Both the divestiture and acquisition were announced as Borland published its latest fiscal losses. Borland recorded a $9.5m loss, down from a $7.9m profit, for the three months to December 31, 2005, on revenue that dropped 13.9 per cent to $71m. Borland reported a loss per share of $0.13.
For the full year, Borland reported a $28.4m loss, down from a $11.3m profit, as the company's revenue slid 10.5 per cent to $276m. That worked out at a loss per share for Borland of $0.37 compared to a profit in 2004 of $0.14.
Licensing from Borland's software dropped 24 per cent to $42.2m during the fourth quarter and 23 per cent for the full year to $163m.
Borland has been badly hit by the rise of "free" software tools, notably the open source Eclipse Foundation. Eclipse has gone from strength to strength since 2001, to today number 115 member companies with more than 500 Eclipse-based plug-ins available for developers to mix-and-match inside their Eclipse IDEs.
Eclipse has proved popular because it has vastly reduced the amount of engineering work required by companies to simply build and update IDEs, while promoting greater interoperability between tools that use the Eclipse framework.
Pre-Eclipse, companies like Borland would undertake this engineering work and then charge developers for the right to use their "quality" closed-source tools.
The decision to buy Segue combined with exiting the IDE market, shows Borland has decided to focus its attention future up the application lifecycle management (ALM) chain, on testing and performance management - already elements of the Borland portfolio - and to leave the messy business of actually assembling code to others.®


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Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa are expecting their third child and the expecting mother took to Instagram to announce the happy family news.
"Beyond blessed and excited to share that we are expecting our third baby girl!!! #blessed #babymamba #thankful," the 34-year-old wrote alongside an adorable onesie and baby sneakers. Her Instagram account has since been made private.
The famous couple has two daughters together, Natalia Diamante Bryant and Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant. Kobe is expected to attend tomorrow night's 2016 ESPY Awards ceremony, where he will be presented with the Icon Award by none other than Justin Timberlake.
U.S. & World
Back in mid-April, the former Los Angeles Lakers star played his final game before entering retirement on the court.
He tweeted a heartfelt message to his legions of fans after stepping out of Staples Center, writing, "Last night was the final chapter to an incredible story. I walk away at peace knowing my love for the game &this city will never be broken."
It's quite an exciting time in the Bryant household--congratulations to both Kobe and Vanessa!


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If you have tried to quit smoking >>>>
- This topic has 10 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 6 months ago by david23.
June 14, 2007 at 2:24 pm #7819alwaleedParticipant
If you have tried to quit smoking, you know how hard it can be. It is hard because nicotine is a very addictive drug. For some people, it can be as addictive as heroin or cocaine.
Quitting is hard. Usually people make two or three tries, even more, before finally being able to quit. Each time you try to quit, you can learn about what helps and what hurts.
Quitting takes hard work and a lot of effort, but you can quit smoking.
Every smoker is addicted to a slightly different combination of "stimulants" in cigarettes and the act of smoking. A stimulant is the addictive property in a cigarette that keeps you craving for more, even though you know you shouldn't.
You must find out what you like about smoking. Write that reason down. By writing it down, you will understand it.
Is smoking a "positive" experience for you? If so, then you have conditioned your mind and body, through prolonged exposure to smoking, to get positive feelings when you smoke.
Non-smokers don't experience the roller-coaster ride of the highs and lows. Instead, they maintain a much higher level of well-being. They don't need a cigarette to relax – they have learned to relax naturally.
The Effects of Nicotine
Nicotine affects almost every system in the body. When you take a puff, your heart beats faster, your pulse quickens, your veins constrict, your blood pressure increases. Your adrenal glands pump out adrenaline that increases your heart rate, relaxes many of your smooth muscles, and raises your metabolic rate. Even the electrical activity in your brain changes.
These are powerful biological effects. Indeed, nicotine is a very powerful drug. In fact, it is one of the most toxic of all drugs, comparable to cyanide. Take enough nicotine and it can kill you. But the amount of nicotine in a single cigarette is only 8 to 9 milligrams on average.
The amount of nicotine that smokers inhale from each cigarette is even smaller. Most popular brands of cigarettes deliver less than 1.5 milligrams per cigarette. This amount may be somewhat higher or lower for each smoker, depending on how deeply you puff and how many puffs you take from each cigarette.
But nicotine is so potent that even this small dose causes significant changes in the functioning of numerous organs and systems in your body. When people first take up smoking, these physiological changes seem extremely unpleasant. Beginning smokers usually experience nausea, dizziness, headache, stomach upset, coughing and other uncomfortable symptoms. But people who continue to smoke soon develop a tolerance to these symptoms, until they become unnoticeable.
Tolerance is a term used to describe an important feature of addiction. Tolerance has developed when, after the repeated administration of a drug (in this case, nicotine) produces a decreased effect. As well, tolerance has developed when increasingly larger doses must be administered to obtain the effects observed with the original dose.
What does this mean for the smoker? The small dose of nicotine delivered by several puffs on a cigarette may make people feel ill the first few times they try smoking. But after they've been smoking for a week or so (repeated "self-administration" of nicotine), several puffs and even an entire cigarette no longer have that effect. Now they'll feel ill only if they smoke several cigarettes one after another (a larger dose).
Psychologically, tolerance to the unpleasant effects of nicotine allows the smoker to focus on nicotine's pleasurable physiological effects. Many smokers don't realize that nicotine's effects on the heart, the nervous system, and the endrocine system are significant contributors to the relaxation, alertness, stress relief, and other good feelings they experience.
This combination of physiological and psychological effects provides so many positive reinforcements that smoking quickly becomes an established habit.
As the term tolerance implies, a smoker actually becomes accustomed to having a certain level of nicotine in his or her body. In fact, research studies have shown that (without realizing it) smokers regulate the number of cigarettes they smoke in order to maintain their own personally preferred level of nicotine. For example, smokers who are given a very high nicotine cigarette will puff less often than usual, so they don't take in more nicotine than their preferred amount. Likewise, with a low nicotine cigarette, the smoker will take more puffs than usual, in order to get that preferred amount of nicotine.
When no cigarettes are smoked for a while (when someone is trying to quit), the smoker doesn't get any nicotine. And it is the lack of nicotine that produces unpleasant physiological symptoms in the body. Medically, these symptoms are called "withdrawal effects."
To relieve these withdrawal effects, many smokers must continue to take in their usual amount of nicotine. This is a sign of "physical dependence" on nicotine. Doctors define physical dependence as a change in the body's functioning that is produced by repeated administration of a drug, such that continued doses of the drug are needed to prevent withdrawal symptoms.
But that's not all. Smokers also become accustomed to the psychological effects of smoking. After the smoking habit is established, the smoker needs to smoke in to feel "normal." In other words, the effects produced by nicotine, and the behaviors associated with smoking, become necessary to maintain the person's optimal state of well-being. This condition is referred to as "psychological dependence."
At the extreme, many smokers who run out of cigarettes or are unable to smoke, become totally preoccupied by thoughts of having a cigarette. This behavior is often referred to as "compulsive drug use."
Is Smoking An Addiction?
Physiological and physical dependence, withdrawal, and compulsive drug use are the defining characteristics of "drug addiction." Does this mean that smoking is an addiction? Certainly, the smoking habit meets many of the criteria needed to qualify as an addiction, including:
A highly controlled or compulsive pattern of drug use. The experienced smoker has a lot of smoking patterns that (if broken) are disturbing.
Psychoactive, or mood-altering effects involved in the pattern of drug taking.
Drug functioning as a reinforcement to strengthen behavior and lead to further drug ingestion. It's the nicotine that keeps people smoking.
Using these criteria, the U.S. Surgeon General's Report (in 1988) on smoking made several major conclusions:
-Cigarettes and other forms of tobacco are addicting.
-Nicotine is the drug in tobacco that causes addiction.
The pharmacological and behavioral processes that determine tobacco addiction are similar to those that determine addiction to drugs such as heroin and cocaine.
All smokers show signs of physical and psychological dependence on nicotine. Their bodies crave nicotine, and they will smoke until their bodies have taken in a certain level of nicotine. Thus, addiction is more a matter of degree. Its not if you are addicted but how addicted you are.
OH smoker . . . Your Heart is grace from God . . . keep it
Almost everyone knows that smoking causes cancer, emphysema, and heart disease; that it can shorten your life by 14 years or more; and that the habit can cost a smoker thousands of dollars a year. So how come people are still lighting up
Increased health risk
Cigarette smokers not only have an increased risk of lung cancer, but also many other cancers, including mouth, lip, larynx, kidney, oesophagus (gullet) and cervix.
Smoking also contributes to virtually all the non-malignant but common heart, circulatory and lung disorders, including fatal heart attacks, strokes and emphysema.
Smoking rates in women increased so much during the post-war years (1950 to 2000) that lung cancer rates in women rose sharply. What was predominantly a male condition in the 1950s (one case in women to every ten in men) became almost as common in women as men, in the 1990s. In parts of Scotland, where smoking rates are particularly high (for both sexes), lung cancer has even overtaken breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer death in women.
It's never too late to stop
There are two important facts to remember. First, 50 per cent of those who smoke will die prematurely as a result of cigarettes, for one reason or another (usually cancer). That's half of all smokers! Second, it's always worth giving up. After 12 to 15 years from the last cigarette you smoke, the risk of getting lung cancer drops (even in people who previously smoked quite heavily) to a level virtually as low as for non-smokers.
Watch out for early signs
Early warning signs for lung cancer are difficult to pin down. Many smokers expect to have 'a bit of a cough', often lasting most of the winter months, or find themselves less energetic or shorter of breath than they used to be. But symptoms like these or a slowly resolving chest infection (particularly if it develops into pneumonia) could be because of a previous undiagnosed lung cancer. Strangely enough, many smokers give up cigarettes just a few weeks or months before the diagnosis is made – as if they had some sort of unspoken recognition. Ironic really, since so often it happens after a lifetime of half-hearted attempts to stop smoking, at a time when it would have done some good!
June 14, 2007 at 11:55 pm #73829david23Participant
You want to discuss other treatments?
February 1, 2010 at 4:46 pm #97180jwalinParticipant
what are you:?:
a great typist or a better plagerist
just joking
anyways i hope it atleast helps someone.
how about publishing your work
February 4, 2010 at 8:59 am #97258coldautumnParticipant
I don't really smoke, but my father is a chain smoker..he tried quitting a couple of times but failed miserably.
February 8, 2010 at 12:24 am #97382JohnniGParticipant
Interesting read
February 10, 2010 at 7:55 am #97457mcarParticipant
There are now products used to wean those who can't stop smoking.
Anyway, if you really love your health, always follow what the packet says: CIGARETTE SMOKING IS DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH. If you love your wallet: SMOKING IS DANGEROUS TO YOUR WEALTH. 😉
February 10, 2010 at 3:22 pm #97470JackBeanParticipant
Our cigarettes do not say that 😀
February 11, 2010 at 6:25 am #97500mcarParticipant
Well that's only in the Philippines I guess; *Cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health* always imprinted on the cigar packet. I just said the second one.
February 27, 2010 at 3:05 am #97971stopsmokinghabitsParticipant
It's a fact that smoking triggers and stimulate different kinds of cancers and illnesses.
Each time a person smokes a cigarette, he or she will be losing part of their life
span, health, money and honor. We are living in a world where there are so many
anti-smokers working against smoking and for this reason, smokers are generally not seen in a respectful light. So why not start to think about the benefits of stopping smoking and stop being addicted instead of losing all these for the sake of a cigarette?
The advantages of stop smoking are not only a better health and modified
life span, but it can also have an advantages on social life. When a smoker stops this addiction he or she will have a lower risk of developing cancer and heart disease.
It will also mean that the ex-smoker will breathe in fresher air instead of cigarette smoke,which will mean less instances of coughing and breathlessness.
March 25, 2010 at 9:40 am #98653FrankysmokesParticipant
@ mcar
why do u think is the use of that warning, if again and again the government was still selling it?
March 26, 2010 at 2:59 am #98660david23Participant
Yeah it is a bit harsh to judge people who smoke. Think about it, couple decades ago people used to discriminate against fat people and those with mental diseases openly as if they were less than normal. Of course now we know that obesity has a very strong genetic component, and that some people really cant help it. Well smoking and many addictions are also hereditary, and maybe some people just help it. And as long as they havent hit rock bottom maybe we should just leave them alone
- The topic 'If you have tried to quit smoking >>>>' is closed to new replies.


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The Dojo Toolkit: Layout Dijits
One of Dojo's specialties is layout Dijits. Layout Dijits let you arrange your other Dijits on a Web page, displaying them, for example, in tabbed pages. Because space is at a premium in browsers, tabs are very useful, especially if you have lots of controls to display, so you don't have to crowd them in.
Dojo also offers stack container Dijits, which lay out Dijits in a stack, with buttons to move through the stack. Click a button, and you're looking at the next page in the stack. Stack containers also help save space, but tab containers are more commonly understood by users.
A novel Dijit that Dojo offers is the accordion container, which presents the user with a set of labels arranged one next to the other. Clicking a label makes that accordion pleat open, revealing the controls it contains. The accordion layout Dijit is famous and has long been a hallmark of Dojo—in fact, some programmers think of the accordion container almost exclusively when they think of Dojo.
In this chapter, we'll explore these various types of Dijits.
Using ContentPane
The ContentPane Dijit is the Dijit that you use as a single page in a layout Dijit. For example, a tabbed container with six pages usually uses six content panes. You use the ContentPane Dijit to display each page of Dijits that you store in a layout container.
ContentPane Dijits are usually created from <div> elements with the dojotType attribute set to dijit.layout.ContentPane. Because a ContentPane Dijit is built from <div> elements, you can use a style attribute to arrange the Dijits in a content pane as you like.
The example here, contentpane.html, creates a content page and displays the text "This is a content pane." Because content panes are usually based on <div> elements, nothing special would appear in the Web page—just the text. To spiff things up a little, we'll also draw a dotted border around the content pane.
To create a content pane:
- Open your Web page in a text editor.
- Add a dojo.require("dijit.layout.ContentPane"); statement to your code.
Create a new <div> element with a border (use the style attribute to create the border) and set the <div> element's dojoType attribute to dijit.layout.ContentPane. Enclose some text in the <div> element.
Script 4.1 shows what your page should look like after you make the additions.
Script 4.1. Creating a content pane.
- Save your file.
- Navigate to your file in a browser. You should see the content pane, showing text and a dotted border (Figure 4.1).
Figure 4.1 A Dijit content pane.


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Want to know the best way to get started? Well I can tell you how, after 5 years of experience from newb to team player this is the best way......
1. Start with the account make sure is secure. Password memorized and written down along with a email.
2. Now that your in you have a choice of many different countries, Russia, USA etc. But the catch is you must find a country that's best for YOU! What are you like in games like this destructive? Fast? Sneaky? Well if you said yes to any then now it's time to choose. I'll give some basic stuff but if you want more on it follow me on twitter @thepolock25 and I'll get you some videos on the different tanks. The main strong countries in game are Russia, Germany, USA and France! Russia specializes in hardcore heavy tanks designed to take hits, the best early one to get everyone knows is the KV-1. Germany also has heavies but more so is unique for it's tank destroyers which have very accurate guns and can stay at a distance from it's opponents! One of the best early ones to get is the Hetzer.
USA is a very medium tank based country like the iconic M4 Sherman these mediums are not to fast but have something called gun depression (@thepolock25) which is how much a tank can move it's gun downwards over the tank. This makes American mediums great to shoot over ridge lines. Last but not least is France, it begins slow an heavy but soon switches to fast and furious an specializes in auto loaders which are fast shooting multi shot guns but be careful that didn't come around till teir 6 light or teir 8 heavy!
3. Now the last thing to do is just build experience and learn more off of videos and gameplay. Don't underestimate WOT it is a very strategic based game that will take time to learn, the only way to speed the proses is to watch videos.
Hopefully this helped and if you need more help message me or follow me on twitter where I will e coming out with plenty of videos on my youtube channel!
Edited by joeisawesome12, Aug 09 2017 - 18:09.


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Canadians sweep medals in men's Skier X
Already so good in the aerials and moguls, the Canadians found another freestyle event to dominate.
All part of the country's attempt to win the medal count at the Vancouver Games, starting in less than two weeks.
Led by Chris Del Bosco, the Canadians swept the medals in men's Skier X (`skicross' in Olympic parlance) at the Winter X Games on Sunday. Dave Duncan took second and Brady Leman captured third.
On the women's side, Canada's Ashleigh McIvor finished runner-up to France's Ophelie David, who won her fourth straight title. McIvor's teammate, Kelsey Serwa, wound up third.
All of this bodes well for Canada's quest, which begins on the first full day of competition, Feb. 13, when Jenn Heil takes to the freestyle moguls course.
"That was our mandate when we put the team together - to win medals in Vancouver," Del Bosco said. "It's going to be really fun to watch."
This is how deep Canada has become in skicross: Leman isn't even on the Olympic team. Stanley Hayer, not Leman, is the third member of the squad. Hayer finished seventh Sunday.
"When you have all these great skiers, skiing together, learning from each other and pushing each other, the level just elevates," said Del Bosco, who has dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship. "You can see we've been gradually building and building. Now, any one of us can win a race."
The racing Sunday was marred by the crash of U.S. Olympic freestyle skier Daron Rahlves, who was transported to the hospital after a nasty wreck in qualifying.
Rahlves lost his balance while going over a series of small bumps midway down the mountain and went flying off the course. Although he dislocated his right hip, Rahlves was released from the hospital Sunday night - all in a typical day's work in the dangerous sport of skicross.
Leman was in the same heat as Rahlves, but was out in front of the accident.
"I had no idea that Daron went down, until I crossed the finish line," Leman said. "I was expecting to turn around and see either him or my two teammates I started the heat with right behind me. ... From what I heard, he just got tossed around a bit in there."
McIvor charged out to an early lead in the women's race, only to be tracked down by David. The two figure to vie for first and second in Vancouver.
"Of course, you want to win. But when it's Ophie that passes me, sometimes I go, 'OK, she's the best in the world,'" McIvor said.
HALL PASS: The skiing superpipe show went on without Tanner Hall in the field.
The event was won by Kevin Rolland of France, followed by New Zealand's Jossi Wells.
Hall, a podium regular in this discipline, had to sit on the sideline after an accident last May. He was preparing for a film shoot in Stevens Pass, Wash., when he hit a practice jump and soared well beyond the landing area.
He fell to the icy slopes below from nearly 50 feet up, shattering his knees so badly that he needed extensive surgery.
"Worst pain ever," the 26-year-old said.
Hall is taking the season off to allow his knees to fully heal.
To keep him occupied, Hall started a production company and record label that features reggae musicians.
He's also finishing up his high school degree after being kicked out as a sophomore for smoking marijuana.
By taking online classes, Hall is hoping to be done within a year. Currently, he's taking English, American History and geometry, which he says is more difficult than any trick he's ever tried on the slopes.
Some day, he may even enroll in college.
"Never say never," Hall said. "As I get older, there's a lot of things I want to do that I never thought I'd want to do."
In between studying and signing musical talent, Hall is hitting the gym - hard. He wants to come back stronger than ever next season.
He said earlier in the week that watching these skiers on his playground, the superpipe, was going to be extremely difficult.
"This (accident) has humbled me a whole bunch, taught me about patience, slow down in life and enjoy the small things," Hall said. "I have learned how much I love this lifestyle and need skiing in my life."
JENNY JONES SHOW: Even with a sore knee, Britain's Jenny Jones was able to pull off a fantastic final run to move ahead of Jamie Anderson and successfully defend her title in the women's snowboard slopestyle event.
"I'm stoked for Jenny. She rode really well," Anderson said.
Anderson was just happy to be back on the slopes at Winter X. She fractured her pelvis a week before the event last year and had to watch from the sideline.
This was the second medal for the Anderson family. Her older sister, Joanie, won bronze in Snowboarder X on Saturday.
KICKERS: Snowmobiler Tucker Hibbert simply can't be caught at the X Games. Hibbert got off to a fast start in Snocross on Sunday and raced away from the field for his fourth straight title. .. Snowmobiler Dan Ebert fractured a rib during the Snocross competition. ... Eero Ettala of Finland won the men's snowboard slopestyle event. ... Tyler Walker captured his second straight Mono Skier X crown.